Hot reception for cool new Tigra

The new Tigra looks like bucking the trend for Vauxhall – it’s a Griffin-badged car you won’t get a discount on, and there’s already a lengthy queue. The early advice for anyone looking for a saving is to avoid dealerships and shop online.

A quick survey of dealerships has revealed that, two months before the first cars will arrive, there is very little chance of a bargain. Autocar was told by a spokesman for Lance Owen Vauxhall of Twickenham that his margins gave him ‘very little to play with’. ‘There’s going to be a limited number of these cars,’ he declared. ‘They won’t be hitting the floor until the autumn, and at this stage you’d need to be very lucky to get any sort of deal at all.’

The picture isn’t much brighter further north. A salesman from Great Central Vauxhall in Rugby revealed that he had ‘a very small margin for discounting’ – however, he downplayed the likelihood that he’d use it. ‘Our opportunity for discounts isn’t huge,’ he said, ‘but at this stage it doesn’t need to be. The majority of this year’s allocation has already gone, as we understand it. If customers want a car before next year, there isn’t much time to waste quibbling over the price.’

A spokesman for Vauxhall assured us that there are still cars available this year. ‘More than 700 of the 1000 cars coming this year have already been snapped up,’ he said. ‘The rest should be gone before the end of the month.’ Even next year’s allocation of 5500 Tigras has deliberately been kept small, in a bid to ensure that prices stay high.

Your best chance of a saving is through the Vauxhall website. Buy at www.vauxhall.co.uk and you’ll get £390 off a £13,750 1.4-litre and £435 off the £15,250 1.8-litre Sport – plus free air conditioning.